Shoes with interchangeable strap covers

ABSTRACT

A women&#39;s shoe includes a sole, a heel and a base strap secured to opposite sides of the shoe and positioned to extend across of the wearer&#39;s foot. Strap covers are provided in various colors, materials, shapes and decorative surface patterns. The strap covers are each removably attachable to the base straps, in covering relation thereto, and are selectively interchangeable to provide a variety of different styles and appearances, thereby allowing the same shoe to be worn with many different outfits. The shoes are provided in different sizes, heel shapes and heights to further enhance the versatility of style and appearance, ranging from formal to casual.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates to shoes and, more particularly, to women's shoesin the form of an open-toe sandal having a sole, a heel and a strapwhich extends across the top of the foot, and wherein a plurality ofinterchangeable strap covers of various color, material, shape anddecorative patterns can be selectively interchanged and attached to thestrap in order to alter the appearance of the shoe.

2. Discussion of the Related Art

For many women, choosing the right shoes to go with a particular outfitcan be a challenging task. Typically, the shoe color and pattern arechosen to match a woman's outfit and other accessories, such as a purseand belt. Certain occasions may demand a more formal style andappearance, such as a higher heel in solid black or red. Other times, acasual style may be more appropriate, in which case a woman may chooseto wear a flat shoe or lower heel in a color or pattern which matchesthe casual outfit. Considering the many possibilities faced in making anappropriate shoe selection, it is not surprising that most womenaccumulate an extensive collection of shoes in their wardrobe.

When traveling, particularly on vacation, it may be tempting to pack asmany as ten or more pairs of shoes, ranging from formal to casual, andin different heel heights, colors, patterns and styles so that eachoutfit in the traveling wardrobe is sure to have a pair of matchingshoes. Unfortunately, carrying a large selection of shoes when travelingis not always practical, particularly in view of the recently increasedluggage restrictions imposed on airline passengers. When faced with thepractical need to pack light, the shoe selection in one's travelingwardrobe should ideally be limited to just a few pairs. Unfortunately,this may mean having to compromise by wearing shoes that are not reallymatched to all of the traveler's outfits.

Accordingly, in view of the above noted concerns which women confrontwhen coordinating shoes with various outfits in their wardrobe,particularly when traveling, there is a need for a more versatilewomen's shoe which can be easily changed to adapt to a particular outfitand occasion. More specifically, there is a need for a women's shoewhich can be easily and conveniently changed in color, fabric, style,pattern and overall appearance, thereby allowing the same shoe to beworn with many different outfits ranging from formal to casual.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed to women's shoes, preferably in formof an open-toe sandal style, and including a sole, heel and a strapwhich extends across the top of the wearer's foot. In order to achieve avariety of styles and appearances, the present invention provides aplurality of interchangeable strap covers of various color, material,shape and pattern (e.g., designs formed by stitching, embroidery,beading, printing, dying and the like). The plurality of strap coversare each selectively attachable to the base strap of the shoe in amanner which fully covers the exposed surface of the base strap, therebychanging the appearance of the shoe. In a preferred embodiment, thestrap covers are releasably attachable to the base strap with the use ofhook and loop fasteners. For instance, the entire exposed top surface ofthe base strap may be fitted with a hook component of a hook and loopfastening system. The hook component on the exposed top surface of thebase strap will releasably attach to the underside of any of theplurality of strap covers which are each provided with a loop fabric orother suitable material that is adapted for releasable attachment to thehook component on the base strap. In the preferred embodiment, the basestrap is formed to have a bow tie configuration which is wider at theside edges and narrow in the center. The strap covers may be congruentlyconfigured in the same bow tie shape or another shape which covers theentire exposed surface of the base strap.

The shoes are naturally provided in different sizes to accommodate thewearer. Additionally, the shoes may be manufactured to have differentheel shapes and heights to further enhance the versatility of style andappearance of the shoes. In this manner, when a woman travels, she canpack just two or three pairs of shoes, in different heel heights and/orstyles and achieve a multitude of appearances and fashion styles tomatch all of her outfits, ranging from formal to more casual.

OBJECTS AND ADVANTAGES OF THE INVENTION

With the foregoing in mind, it is a primary object of the presentinvention to provide a women's shoe which is highly versatile andadapted to provide an extensive variety of style and appearances,thereby allowing the same shoe to be worn with many different outfits.

It is still a further object of the present invention to provide awomen's shoe which allows for easy changing of color, style, design andoverall appearance, thereby enabling the same shoe to be matched with anextensive variety of clothing and accessories.

It is still a further object of the present invention to provide awomen's shoe, in an open-toe style and having a sole, a heel and a basestrap secured to opposite sides of the shoe and extending across of thetop of the wearer's foot, and further when the women's shoe includes aplurality of interchangeable strap covers of various color, texture,shape, material and pattern.

It is yet a further object of the present invention to provide a highlyversatile women's shoe which includes interchangeable strap covers ofvarying color, texture, shape, material and pattern, thereby enablingthe wearer to conveniently and effectively change the style andappearance of the same shoe.

It is still a further object of the present invention to provide awomen's shoe which can be easily and conveniently changed in style andappearance to match many different outfits in a wardrobe, therebysubstantially reducing the number of shoes required to be packed inone's luggage when traveling.

These and other objects and advantages of the present invention are morereadily apparent with reference to the following detailed descriptiontaken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a fuller understanding of the nature of the present invention,reference should be made to the following detailed description, taken inconnection with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a top, exploded perspective view of the shoe of the presentinvention illustrating separation of a strap cover to a base strap ofthe shoe;

FIG. 2 is a top perspective view of the shoe of FIG. 1 showing the strapcover attached is covering relation to the base strap;

FIG. 3 is a side elevational view of a shoe, in accordance with thepresent invention, showing a higher heel height and a strap coverremoved from an underlying base strap;

FIG. 4 is a side elevational view of yet another embodiment of the shoeof the present invention, with a lower heel height, and showing thestrap cover removed from the base strap of the shoe;

FIG. 5 is a side elevational view illustrating yet a further embodimentof the shoe of the present invention, with yet another heel design, andshowing the strap cover removed from the base strap of the shoe;

FIG. 6 is a top plan view of a strap cover of the present invention; and

FIG. 7 is a top plan view of a further embodiment of a strap coverhaving a generally bow tie shape to match the configuration of theunderlying base strap on the shoe.

Like reference numerals refer to like part throughout the several viewsof the drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring to the several drawings, an initially FIGS. 1 and 2, theversatile women's shoe of the present invention is shown and isgenerally indicated as 10. In the various embodiments shown, the women'sshoe is preferably in the form of an open-toe style or slip-on sandalwhich includes a sole 12, a heel 14 and a base strap 16 defining anupper. The upper or base strap 16 is attached on the opposite sides ofthe shoe sole and is structured to extend across the top of the wearer'sfoot when the shoe is worn. The shoe, as described thus far, may be anyof a variety of well known styles with varying heel heights and shapes,several examples of which are shown in FIGS. 3-5.

The purpose of the present invention is to provide a highly versatilewomen's shoe which is particularly adapted to allow the color, fabric,style, pattern and overall appearance of the shoe to be selectivelychanged so that the same shoe can be matched to many different outfitsin a women's wardrobe. To achieve this purpose, a plurality of strapcovers 20 are provided for releasable attachment to the base strap 16 onthe shoe 10. The strap covers 20 are specifically sized and configuredto cover the entire top surface of the base strap so that, when attachedthereto, the strap cover appears to be an integral part of the shoe. Inthe spirit and scope of the invention it is contemplated the strapcovers 20 may be made of any suitable material including, but notlimited to, leather and other natural skins, vinyl and other syntheticmaterials, and woven textiles such as cotton, polyester, silk, andcanvas. It is further contemplated that the strap covers 20 may beformed of a rigid or semi-rigid molded material such as from plasticcompositions or latex compositions.

In accordance with the present invention, a plurality of the strapcovers 20 are provided in various colors, materials, textures, andshapes. Further, the strap covers 20 may include decorative elements 30,such as beads, rhinestones, embroidery, stitching, printing, dying, orother like means to create an ornamental design or appearance of theexposed top side 22 of the strap cover 20. A further example of adecorative element 30 is shown in FIGS. 3-5 in the form of a3-dimensional bow.

Each of the plurality of strap covers 20 includes a top side 22, anunderside 24, opposite side edges 25, 26, a forward edge 27 and a rearedge 28. When attached to the base strap, as shown in FIG. 2, the topside of the strap cover, and any decorative elements 30 thereon, arevisibly exposed and provide the dominant feature of appearance (i.e.,color, material, texture, and pattern) of the shoe, particularly whenthe shoe is worn on the wearer's foot.

As described above, each of the strap covers 20 is structured anddisposed for releasable attachment to the base strap 16 on the shoe tofully cover the exposed surface of the base strap. In a preferredembodiment, hook and loop fasteners are employed for the purpose ofremovable attachment of the strap covers 20 to the base strap 16.However, it is fully contemplated within the spirit and scope of thepresent invention to provide other means of removable attachment suchas, but not limited to, snaps, zippers, friction, releasable adhesives,clips and/or slotted structures. As seen in FIGS. 1 and 3-5, a preferredembodiment of the present invention uses a hook component fastener 40 onthe entire top exposed surface of the base strap 16. In this particularembodiment, it may be preferable to configure the base strap 16 to havea bow tie shape, wherein the center portion of the strap is narrowerthan the opposite sides which attach to the sides of the shoe sole. Theuse of a bow tie configuration on the base strap helps to conceal thebase strap from view when the cover strap is attached thereto andfurther reduces the contact surface area between the hook and loopfasteners, thereby making it easier to remove and attach the coverstraps 20 to the base strap. Naturally, the loop component 42 of thehook and loop fastening system is applied to the underside 24 of thecover straps 20. The loop component 42 may be comprised of any suitablematerial which readily attaches to the hook component in a hook and loopfastening system. It is preferred that the loop component material onthe underside of the strap covers 20 be of a soft material which doesnot cause irritation or discomfort when in contact with the skin of thewearer.

Referring again to FIGS. 3-5, the shoe 10 may be provided with variousheel shapes and sizes ranging from a very high heel (see FIG. 3) to alow heel (see FIG. 4). In this manner, when combined with the pluralityof decorative strap covers, the three different shoes shown in FIGS. 3-5provide an extensive selection of shoe styles and appearances tocoordinate with virtually every outfit in a woman's wardrobe, rangingfrom formal to very casual.

While the instant invention has been shown and described in accordancewith various preferred and practical embodiments thereof, it isrecognized that departures from the instant disclosure are contemplatedwithin the spirit and scope of the present invention which is limitedonly to the definition of the invention as set forth in the followingclaims and as interpreted under the doctrine of equivalents.

1. A shoe comprising: a sole; an upper attached to the shoe and beingstructured and disposed to extend across and cover at least a portion ofthe top of a wearer's foot when the shoe is worn, and said upper havinga top surface; a cover member sized and configured to cover said topsurface of said upper and including an exposed top side for providing aprimary visual appearance to the shoe; and releasable fasteners forreleasably attaching said cover member to said top surface of saidupper.
 2. The shoe as recited in claim 1 further comprising: a pluralityof said cover members for selective removable attachment to said upper,and wherein said plurality of cover members each provide a differentprimary visual appearance to the shoe when attached thereto.
 3. The shoeas recited in claim 2 wherein said releasable fasteners comprise hookand loop fasteners.
 4. The shoe as recited in claim 3 wherein said hookand loop fasteners include a hook component on said top surface of saidupper and a loop component on an underside of said cover member.
 5. Theshoe as recited in claim 1 wherein said upper comprises a strap which isstructured and disposed to extend across the top of the wearer's footwhen the shoe is worn so that at least one of the wearer's toes isexposed.
 6. The shoe as recited in claim 5 wherein said strap has a bowtie configuration.
 7. The shoe as recited in claim 2 wherein saidplurality of cover members are of various colors.
 8. The shoe as recitedin claim 7 wherein said plurality of cover members are of varyingmaterials.
 9. The shoe as recited in claim 8 wherein said plurality ofcover members are of various shapes.
 10. The shoe as recited in claim 1wherein said cover member includes decorative elements on said exposedtop side.
 11. A shoe comprising: a sole; a heel; an upper attached tothe shoe and being structured and disposed to extend across and cover atleast a portion of the top of a wearer's foot when the shoe is worn, andsaid upper having a top surface; a cover member sized and configured tocover said top surface of said upper and including an exposed top sidefor providing a primary visual appearance to the shoe; and cooperatingreleasable fasteners for releasably attaching said cover member to saidtop surface of said upper.
 12. The shoe as recited in claim 11 furthercomprising: a plurality of said cover members for selective removableattachment to said upper, and wherein said plurality of cover memberseach provide a different primary visual appearance to the shoe whenattached thereto.
 13. The shoe as recited in claim 12 wherein saidcooperating releasable fasteners comprise hook and loop fasteners. 14.The shoe as recited in claim 13 wherein said hook and loop fastenersinclude a hook component on said top surface of said upper and a loopcomponent on an underside of said cover member.
 15. The shoe as recitedin claim 11 wherein said upper comprises a strap which is structured anddisposed to extend across the top of the wearer's foot when the shoe isworn so that at least one of the wearer's toes is exposed.
 16. The shoeas recited in claim 12 wherein said plurality of cover members are ofvarious colors.
 17. The shoe as recited in claim 11 wherein said covermember includes decorative elements on said exposed top side.
 18. A shoecomprising: a sole; an upper attached to the shoe and being structuredand disposed to extend across and cover at least a portion of the top ofwearer's foot when the shoe is worn, and said upper having a topsurface; a plurality of cover members for selective removable attachmentto said upper, and said plurality of cover members each providing adifferent primary visual appearance to the shoe when attached thereto;and cooperating releasable fasteners for releasably attaching anyselected one of said plurality of cover members to said top surface ofsaid upper.
 19. The shoe as recited claim 18 wherein at least one ofsaid plurality of cover members includes one or more decorative elementson said exposed top side.